Syrian leader signs constitutional declaration

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has signed into force a constitutional declaration regulating its five-year transitional period and laying out rights for women and freedom of expression.

The declaration comes three months after rebels toppled Bashar al-Assad's government, leading to calls for an inclusive new Syria that respects rights.

It also follows a wave of violence that broke out on Syria's Mediterranean coast last week, which a war monitor said saw security forces kill nearly 1,500 civilians, most of them members of the Alawite minority to which the Assad family belongs.

Interim President Sharaa on Thursday said he hoped the constitutional declaration would mark the beginning of "a new history for Syria, where we replace oppression with justice... and suffering with mercy", as he signed the document at the presidential palace.

The new authorities had previously repealed the Assad-era constitution and dissolved parliament.

The declaration sets out a transitional period of five years, during which a "transitional justice commission" would be formed to "determine the means for accountability, establish the facts, and provide justice to victims and survivors" of the former government's misdeeds.

According to a copy of the document shared by the presidency, "the glorification of the former Assad regime and its symbols" is forbidden, as is "denying, praising, justifying or downplaying its crimes".

Abdul Hamid al-Awak, a member of the committee that drafted the document, said it also enshrined "women's right to participate in work and education, and have all their social, political and economic rights guaranteed".

He added that the people's assembly, a third of which will be appointed by the president, would be tasked with drafting all legislation.

Under the declaration, the legislature cannot impeach the president, nor can the president dismiss any lawmakers. Executive power would also be restricted to the president in the transitional period, Awak said, pointing to the need for "rapid action to confront any difficulties".

He added that the declaration also guarantees the "freedom of opinion, expression and the press", and affirms the independence of the judiciary.

Sharaa, who led the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which spearheaded Assad's overthrow, was appointed interim president in late January. He promised to issue the constitutional declaration to serve as a "legal reference" during the transition period.